The present invention relates generally to hand-held tools utilized in the installation of wire harness connector housings, and more particularly to a hand-held connector housing installation clip that holds a plurality of wire harness connector housings in a specific alignment and spacing for installation into corresponding opposing connector elements.
In the field of high-efficiency telecommunications, it is not uncommon to have switching assemblies that have a plurality of circuits on master communication circuit boards that must be connected together. These switching assemblies will typically have a plurality of connecting elements, typically in the form of backplane connectors, attached to the master circuit board. The backplane connectors include a plurality of conductive pins that extend upwardly and outwardly therefrom. These backplane connectors are often connected together by way of wire harnesses that interconnect multiple such backplane connectors.
The backplane connectors are often further arranged in side-by-side order in areas of tight clearance, and are typically connected together using wire harnesses. The tight clearance involved in such applications makes it difficult to securely seat the wire harness connectors quickly and reliably, by hand. Additionally, because such installations are performed by hand, they increase the amount of labor required for retrofit and replacement installations.
The prior art, as evidenced by U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,870 which issued Mar. 25, 1997, describes latching systems for connectors that utilize a single handle assembly to both place and retain a connector housing in engagement with an opposing connector housing. The handle assembly in this apparatus is intended to retain the two connector housings together in engagement. The handle assembly is not removable and therefore provides an impediment to installation of connectors and other electronic components in the area nearby the connector.
A need therefore exist for an installation clip that may be utilized to install connector housings and which may be easily removed from the connector housings after their installation so as not to provide an impediment, or obstruction, to installation of further electronic components.